“Please excuse me for a bit,” said God. Apparently, she had to make a report to the “upper-level” entities. It seemed like the World Tree existing in the storage card was a bit of a problem.
“Okay then, let’s start with how to move your body,” the World Tree started to explain. She was willing to teach me how a plant moves around freely. “It’s completely different from how animals move, so I suggest you forget what you already know.”
You mean it’s completely different from how I moved as a human?
“Um, you do know that some plants and trees grow towards the light, yes?”
Sure I do. Plants grow that way to have better access to sunlight, right? I think I’ve heard that sunflowers always face the sun.
“And if there isn’t enough water or nutrients, some plants grow their roots out.”
I know that too. They dig deeper so they can gather more.
“We plants live at a very slow pace. We’re slow, but we’re alive, just like any animal.”
Makes sense. Large trees can take tens or even hundreds of years to grow. They’re much slower than animals, but definitely still alive.
“And this is the important part. Both animals and plants are made up of a bunch of little balls.”
Wait, a bunch of little balls? I pondered for a bit. Ah, you mean cells!
“I guess animals use those little balls to move some way or another. There are definitely some plants that move too, but...” she trailed off.
A few that come to mind are the shameplant or the Venus flytrap, maybe. Some plants do move rather quickly, though it probably depends on a few factors. Fantasy settings usually have stuff like man-eating plants or trees with human faces. I wouldn’t want those to move too quickly.
“Plants and trees decide their movement based on the number of little balls. It takes a lot of time, but you can increase that number by growing more roots to the right, or spreading branches to the left, and so on.”
So you move by cell division. Does that mean I do too? This might take a while.
“No, normal plants live at a really slow pace, but you used to be a human, right, Furutsu? You can think as fast as an animal, so you can move as fast as one too. I think you can change how many little balls you have really quickly.”
I thought for a bit. If I’m able to properly control the rate at which my cells increase or decrease, I should be able to move of my own accord then?
“Yeah. I think you can!”
But I don’t have any of my senses. I can’t even begin to imagine how I can actually move.
“Hmm, then how about you try to feel your surroundings first?”
I can do that?! Please teach me, ma’am!
The Tree spoke with a dignified voice. “Hm, very well then! I shall explain!” She giggled before switching back to her normal tone. “Just kidding! Well, animals use their eyes and ears to see and hear, but plants don’t have those.”
Right. An apple only has a stem.
“Unlike animals, though, plants are very good at using every single one of those little balls to see and hear. So with practice, you should be able to see and hear much better than you did with your eyes and ears. But...”
But?
“This is completely different from how a human would sense things. It’s really hard and it’s gonna take a lot of work.”
Okay, I sorta get it. I’m so used to using my eyes to see, that I wouldn’t even know where to start when I’m told to use my cells to sense the light... Huh?
“Is something the matter?”
Um, I just started to see these small red lights all around me. But there’s no way I could, right?
After a brief silence, the Tree spoke. “Furutsu, you don’t mean...”
What was that all about? I couldn’t see anything at all before. Now I see some green stuff too. What is this? It feels so weird.
“You’re amazing! Were you already able to say bye-bye to your animal instincts?”
Hm? What’s so amazing about that?
“Can you count the number of small lights for me?”
Uh...huh. Yeah, I can actually. There’s fifty-two.
“Ding ding ding! Including you, there’s fifty-three!”
Are all these small red dots apples?
“Yep. There’s actually fifty-five, but the trunk’s in the way and blocking your view of the rest.”
It’s blocking my view, but you can still see them? Anyways, this is surprising! How was I able to count so many dots in an instant?
“That’s because you don’t need to use your eyes.”
I don’t need my eyes? I mulled over her statement for a bit. That makes sense! I can see all these red dots at the same time too. It’s like I have 360-degree vision!
“Animals can’t do this, right?”
Animals lose track of things once they’re out of sight. They also have a lot of blind spots. It’s impossible to keep track of so many things without marking them somehow. I’m a plant now, though! Simply put, I can see all these things at once, so I can count them all in an instant. Being a plant sure is convenient!
The Tree giggled. “Exactly! With more practice, you’ll be able to see your surroundings much more clearly. I also think you’ll be able to hear. It’s a lot easier than seeing.”
I think I’m getting the hang of this. I just have to be conscious of the fact that I’m a living thing composed of a bunch of little balls. I started to feel the slight breeze, as the wind passed soft vibrations through my skin.
“Each and every one of those balls feels the swaying of the wind and relays the sounds to you. That vibration that you feel is sound.”
I took some time to take it all in. This is the sound of leaves rustling in the wind. I’m starting to hear the sound of water too. I focused my senses. And there’s a little river! I can even clearly see the fish jumping!
“You’re amazing! You’ve already got it down, Furutsu!” the Tree exclaimed.
It’s because I’ve got an amazing teacher. Thank you.
“Ha ha, you’re welcome!”
Once I’d gotten the hang of it, I was almost puzzled as to why I couldn’t do this earlier. It was so simple.
This is a lot more convenient than when I was a human! I can see in every direction, and I can hear sounds from a lot farther away. For example, I can clearly hear the screams over there. I paused. Huh?
“Noooo! Someone! Please help me!” a person shrieked.